Meeting Adversity with Resilience: Survival of Zimbabwean Migrant Women in South Africa

Migration is used as a coping and adaptation strategy and can increase migrants’ resilience to maintain and expand their livelihoods and survival strategies. Despite the challenges migrants encounter in host environments, they overcome the challenges, cope and adapt. This study explored the socio-economic coping and adaptation strategies employed by Zimbabwean migrant women in South Africa. The study employed the social capital theory, which embodies contemporary sustainable livelihood framework capitals as well as political and cultural capitals. A survey and multi-attribute contingent ratings of the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the migrants were used. The results showed that the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of migrant women and innate and acquired livelihood capitals played a significant role in their coping and adaptation. Human livelihood capital was most important in facilitating migrant women’s coping and adaptation. The South African government’s strong stance on gender relations and equality issues benefited the migrant women who capitalised on the policies to survive and earn livelihoods. Despite adversities such as the exclusion of foreigners from social welfare benefits, political challenges and the xenophobic atmosphere, migrant women took advantage of their capabilities and capacities, which they nurtured. Even with Zimbabwe’s adverse situation and given the migrant women’s resilience, skills and hard work, it is yet to be seen if South Africa will embrace migrants’ positive contributions. A strong recommendation is made for policymakers to address tensions between migrants and locals and mainstream international migration into developmental processes to align with the 2030 global agenda.